. Its 



82 




2546 
DEC 3 . 1892 " 



THE LICK ASTRONOMICAL DEPARTMENT 



University of California 



\ 



for. 

\ 



MILICENT W. SHINN. 



Reprinted from the " Overland Monthly," Nov., iS 



Bacon & Company, Printers, San Francisco. 



■* 



THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. II. THE LICK ASTRO- 
NOMICAL DEPARTMENT. 

I. tain-top progressed it became evident 
that this would be impossible ; and in 
The Lick Observatory is in a sense fact, when all was done, the Observatory 
the crowning possession of the Univer- had cost about $600,000, leaving about 
sity. From the scholar's point of view $100,000 for endowment. The interest 
it is eminent over the other departments on this fund was supplemented by an ap- 
in being the single one that is mainly propriation from the general revenues of 
given up to original research. From the the University. This diversion of money 
popular point of view it is magnificent f rorn the main work of the University to 
in the possession of the largest telescope a branch that had been expected to be 
on earth. It gratifies the pride of the dependent on its own revenues was not 
State keenly to know that pilgrims from accomplished without opposition, but, I 
foreign lands count it one of the things think, is generally acquiesced in now as 
that must be seen in California. No necessary to any adequate use of the 
Philistine doubt of the utility of pure Observatory property. It is not, how- 
science can stand against this pride ; ever, by any means a desirable way for 
and a public that has seen the time the income of the Observatory to be 
when it was half-ready to pull the courses permanently derived : there should be a 
at Berkeley to pieces in contempt of separate endowment sufficient for all 
" unpractical learning," has never asked, needs. Even with this help the full use 
" What practical use in knowing of a of the resources of the Observatory can- 
fifth moon of Jupiter, or a shadowy du- not be had, for lack of a sufficient staff, 
plicate streak across Mars ? " Doubtless The latest report gives the following 
the fascination of the heavens — of mys- comparison of the working force in sev- 
tery, exploration, and discovery — has eral observatories : — 

had much to do, also, with the inter- T . , ~, . ^ 

L . ., ~, , ,.*. Lick Observatory 6 

est in the Observatory; the diligence Greenwich Observatory 20 

and skill with which its results have rj arvarc i « 

been made known to the people has p aris « astrono 

counted for much ; and none of the mers , and many computers, 

thousands who have visited the summit _. „ ™ 

of Mount Hamilton can have failed to J ulk ° wa Observatory 16 

come away in some degree awed by the *° J aneir0 ^ 

singularly visible form science takes on Wasmn g ton l 9 

in that great dome in the heart of the Yet, the report adds, " at least as 
wilderness, lifted up between the sky much is expected from the Lick Obser- 
and the tumbled sea of mountain tops, vatory as from any of these establish- 
In spite of the pride in it at home, ments." 
and its good name abroad, the Lick The income of the Harvard College 
Observatory is not a rich institution. Observatory was stated by its latest 
Mr. Lick's gift was $700,000. It was at report at $33,507 from funds, $64,958 
first believed that $300,000 of this could from all sources. The average appro- 
be saved for endowment, but as the work priations for salaries and current main- 
of building and equipping on the moun- tenance of the Washington Observa- 



The Lick Astronomical Department. 



tory are stated at $56,000. The Lick 
Observatory received last year as inter- 
est on its funds, $5,100 ; from the Uni- 
versity funds, $21,000. 

That it has under the circumstances 
held its own among the observatories of 
the world, as it has, seems to me a re- 
markable evidence of the diligence, pre- 
cision, ability, and efficient adjustment 
of the work done by every one of the 
small group of astronomers. I find the 
Harvard Observatory and the Lick Ob- 
servatory named together (in a pamphlet 
concerning the Washington Observato- 
ry, put forth by a number of American 
astronomers) as " the two chief observa- 
tories of America." In turning over the 
great foreign astronomical publications 
I find the Lick Observatory mentioned 
with constant respect ; its observations 
texts for the discussions of learned soci- 
eties and utilized in the work of the 
great observatories ; its astronomers' 
names signed to frequent communica- 
tions. Nor this by any means only in 
matters depending on "the mere brute 
power of a great telescope," (to plagiarize 
a clever phrase,) though of course the 
great telescope is its special distinction. 
I shall try to give later in this article 
some summary of the accomplishment 
of the Observatory so far, and I think it 
will be seen to be large in proportion to 
the means that have been available. 

It is evident that the current expenses 
of the Observatory are all that its in- 
come could hope to cover. The sending 
out of a scientific expedition, the pur- 
chase of new expensive instruments, or 
any such outlay, can be accomplished 
only by means of gifts. And in fact a 
good deal of what has been done already 
has been due to the success of the direct- 
or in interesting wealthy people in the 
work, and obtaining money for special 
purposes of this sort. In the four years 
of the existence of the Observatory 
nearly $10,000 has been thus given ; 
and now Mrs. Phcebe Hearst has given 
a fund, which will yield at least $2,000 a 



year and will be in part applied to the 
maintenance of fellowships, thus in- 
creasing the staff to some extent ; while 
it can be in part reserved for important 
special purposes. 



II. 



No one seems to know how or when the 
idea of a great telescope entered Mr. 
Lick's mind. It was there before he took 
any one into his confidence. He had 
never looked through a telescope ; had 
never seen a real telescope, so far as any 
one knows. He was entirely ignorant 
of astronomy, and not even in an un- 
learned way an observer of the skies, — 
in early talks about his plans, for in- 
stance, he wished to be shown the moon 
in Professor Davidson's telescope out of 
his north windows. In some way, how- 
ever, through chance readings, a sense 
of the glory of astronomical discovery 
had laid hold upon him, and the first 
persons with whom he talked of the dis- 
position of his fortune found the plan 
of the telescope already firmly fixed in 
his mind. 

James Lick was of " Pennsylvania 
Dutch " origin ; he was brought up in 
the narrowest circumstances and with 
thenarrowest intellectual opportunities ; 
was in early manhood a mechanic in and 
near Pennsylvania, then spent most of 
his mature years in business in South 
America. He came to California in 
1847 with a good deal of property, in- 
vested early in real estate, and at the 
age of seventy-seven found himself the 
owner of several millions, almost alone 
in the world, and failing in bodily pow- 
ers ; it was inevitable that he should 
ponder much on the disposition of his 
money. He had no belief whatever in 
personal immortality, — he was, in fact, 
a man of most marked disbeliefs in re- 
ligious matters, recognizing Thomas 
Paine as his leader in thought,— but he 
had a great desire for that immortality 
in men's memories that follows the few 



The Lick Astronomical Department. 




Engraved from Painting at the Lick Observatory. 
JAMES LICK. 



famous ones of earth, and he proposed 
so to dispose his millions as to win it. 
He did not at first altogether realize 
that in this aspiration he that saveth 
his life shall lose it ; nor how impossi- 
ble it is, in this stage of the world's pro- 
gress, that a memorial should bring glo- 
ry to a man's name unless at the same 
time it is of great service to mankind. 
His first will left as the main bequest 
a million dollars for statues of himself 
and his parents, to be erected on the 
heights overlooking the shores of the 
ocean and bay. Yet he was more than 
indifferent to having his portrait paint- 
ed, and a passion for statuary for its own 
sake — abundantly shown in the minor 
bequests — probably entered into his 
desire to have his bodily presentment 
thus kept for all time. 

In 1873 he began to take into his con- 
fidence a few acquaintances, and ask 



their judgment of his plans. Although 
he had lived a very isolated life, and had 
no near friends, he was in his way at- 
tached to the Pioneer Association and 
had made acquaintances there, and he 
had a liking for the Academy of Sci- 
ences and some sympathy with its pur- 
suits. 

In February, 1873, he quite unexpect- 
edly offered the Academy a piece of land 
on Market Street, the site of its present 
building. Professor George Davidson, 
then president of the Academy, called 
to thank him, and Mr. Lick then told 
him of his purpose of leaving money for 
a great telescope. It could not have 
been far from this time that he spoke 
of his intentions to Mr. D. J. Staples, 
whom he knew through the Pioneer As- 
sociation, and showed him his will. Mr. 
Staples became from that time one of 
his principal advisers in matters con- 



The Lick Astronomical Department. 



cerning the trusts in general, as Profes- 
sor Davidson was with regard to the tel- 
escope. There were others, however, 
with whom he talked, and it is quite 
impossible to trace the influences that 
finally shaped his benefactions ; for he 
had a way of consulting one and another, 
and quietly comparing notes on their 
advice, without letting either one know 
what he was saying to the other ; and in 
general I should judge that where their 
advice agreed, he took it ; where it did 
not, he followed his own way. 

Mr. Staples felt it his duty to tell 
Mr. Lick frankly that his bequests for 
statues of himself and his family would 
be utterly useless as a memorial ; that 
the world would not be interested in 
them ; and when Mr. Lick urged that 
such costly statues would be preserved 
for all time, as the statues of antiquity 
now remained the precious relics of a 
lost civilization, answered, almost at 
random, " More likely we shall get into 
a war with Russia or somebody, and they 
will come around here with warships 
and smash the statues to pieces in bom- 
barding the city." 

Mr. Lick was struck by this, and after 
a few moments' consideration asked, 
" What shall I do with the money then ? " 

Mr. Staples thought it too important 
a question to answer hastily, and after 
talking with Mr. Ralston, the banker, 
he brought together at Mr. Ralston's 
home a small group of careful men, — 
among whom were Mayor Selby, Presi- 
dent Gilman, and Doctor Stillman, to 
consider it ; out of this conference came 
most of the suggestions that Mr. Lick 
later adopted. There were points in the 
will that Mr. Lick's advisers felt sure 
would injure its validity, and he con- 
sented to draw a second will, and finally 
a deed of trust. These things, however, 
concern rather the story of the trusts 
in general than that of the telescope. 

The first will had contained a bequest 
for this ; and whatever other provisions 
were changed, this was never ques- 



tioned by any one, nor changed except 
as, under the influence of Professor 
Davidson, the amount was increased. 
Mr. Lick had no knowledge whatever of 
any of the auxiliaries needed by a tele- 
scope, or of the purposes of astronomy 
beyond bare discovery; and all this was 
left to Professor Davidson to outline to 
him in the few months of their confer- 
ences. Out of the very interesting ver- 
bal narrative that Professor Davidson 
has given me of this episode, he is will- 
ing to have in print at present only so 
much as is contained in the following 
memorandum, which he wishes me to 
leave in his own words : — 

I am not willing, at this time, to write the narra- 
tive of my relations with James Lick from February, 
1873, to August, 1874, but I give very briefly the 
following items of interest : 

James Lick originally intended to erect the Ob- 
servatory at Fourth and Market streets. His ideas 
of what he wanted and what he should do were of 
the very vaguest character. It required months of 
careful approaches and the proper presentation of 
facts to change his views on location. He next 
had a notion of locating it on the mountains over- 
looking his mill-site, near Santa Clara, and thought 
it would be a Mecca, — but only in the sense of a 
show. 

Gradually I guided his judgment to place it on a 
great elevation in the Sierra Nevadas, by placing be- 
fore him the results of my experimental work at 
great elevations, as well as the experience of other 
high-altitude observers. At the same time, by my 
presentation of facts and figures of the cost and 
maintenance of other observatories, he named the 
sum of $1,200,000 in one of his wills, as the sum to 
be set aside for founding the James Lick Observa- 
tory, and for its support. 

In making him acquainted with the size and per- 
formance of the telescopes of the larger observatories, 
I naturally mentioned the great reflector of Lord 
Rosse. That seemed to fire his ambition, and at the 
next interview he insisted on a refractor of six feet in 
diameter. It required long and patient explanations 
to get him down to forty inches, which was the di- 
ameter we finally adopted. 

In October, 1873, I obtained his permission to make 
known to the California Academy of Sciences the 
main facts of his intention to place the largest re- 
fracting telescope that could be constructed at an 
elevation of 10,000 feet in the Sierra Nevadas. I 
have not the announcement within reach, but it wa 
published in the Alia California late in October, I 
think the 21st. A short time before that I had con- 



The Lick J^stronomical Department. 



5 



fidentially made the facts of Lick's intention known 
to Leland Stanford and his wife. 

An eminent astronomer had nearly frustrated the 
whole project, by urging Mr. Lick to adopt a reflect- 
ing telescope instead of a refractor ; but he had a 
remarkably clear mechanical mind, and I had very 
little trouble in satisfying him of the weakness of the 
suggestion. 

Before I went to Washington for consultation with 



When he again changed his views, and determined 
to locate the observatory on the vastly inferior site 
of Mount Hamilton, I declined further conference 
with him. 

The whole of my intercourse with him was full of 
curious and interesting, and sometimes dramatic, 
incidents, that have never been sought by any one 
professing to write the history of the Lick Observa- 
tory. 



'4 



— 



^ 







Photo by H. E. Mathews. 



AN OCEAN OF FOG BELOW MT. HAMILTON, LOOKING NORTH. 



other observers for the Transit of Venus expeditions 
of 1874, Mr. Lick held to the decision of the refrac- 
tor at a great elevation, and details had been decided 
upon, although he had several times changed his 
will in other matters. Before departing I showed 
him that by the Code of California he could not then 
devise by will to any corporate body, and urged him 
to make a Deed of Trust. 

Upon my return I found he had made the Deed of 
Trust, and that some of the Pioneers had prevailed 
upon him to locate the observatory on the north 
shore of Lake Tahoe ; and had prevailed upon him 
to reduce the $1,200,000 to $700,000. 



The trust deed was dated July, 1874 ; 
for over a year and a half Mr. Lick had 
been continuously occupied in consulta- 
tions and plans as to the exact disposal 
of the money. He now began to occupy 
himself with the carrying out of his fa- 
vorite purpose, the erection of the tele- 
scope. The deed did not bind him pos- 
itively to the Tahoe site, and his mind 
lingered about nearer ones, for he had 
from the first been reluctant to have 



The Lick Astronomical Department. 




Photo by H.E. Mathews. 



THE OBSERVATORY FROM THE EAST. 



the observatory so far from routes of 
travel ; he wished it to be as much vis- 
ited, as constantly before the eyes of 
people, as possible. He found advisers 
who favored various nearer sites, — chief- 
ly on the ground of the severity of the 
winters at Tahoe ; and during the sum- 
mer of 1875 he had his agent, Mr. Fraser, 
examine and report on a number of these 
sites, Mount Hamilton among them. Mr. 
Lick had been a citizen of Santa Clara 
County until 1873, and had property 
there, and when Mr. Fraser reported 
that Mount Hamilton was the most ac- 
cessible and the most convenient for 
building, and when the county agreed 
to construct a road to the summit, he 
decided finally to place the Observatory 
there. 

It is something over 4,200 feet high, 
and as it was the first great astronomi- 



cal establishment to be placed at any 
considerable height, it was talked of all 
over the scientific world for this, as well 
as for the great telescope. An article 
in the Edinburgh Review gives Mr. 
Lick great credit for having "felt in- 
stinctively,'' though without astronomi- 
cal knowledge, what the astronomers 
were just coming to perceive, — that the 
great need of their science was high 
altitude observations ; and for having 
been "from the first determined" upon 
taking the pioneer step in this direc- 
tion. In fact, it had taken a great deal 
of pressure, not from Professor David- 
son only, for Mr. Staples and doubtless 
others said much to him on this point, 
to prevent the location of the Observ- 
atory between Pioneer Hall and the 
Academy of Sciences Building, under 
the fogs of the peninsula, and amid the 



The Lick Astronomical Department. 



jarring of drays. Professor Davidson, 
however, had set his heart upon so much 
more — an elevation of not less than 
9,000 feet — that he could not reconcile 
himself to what he felt the loss of an 
unprecedented scientific opportunity. 
And in fact the Lick Observatory may 
soon be surpassed in its advantage of 



heights, also, the freedom from fogs on 
the one hand, storms on the other, may 
be expected to be greatest, and the 
number of clear nights in the year the 
highest. These are points, however, for 
astronomers to settle. Certainly Mount 
Hamilton has been praised over and over 
as the best site in the world so far occu- 




Photo by Taber. 



THE ROAD TO JIT. HAMILTON. 



altitude by others, as it is already by 
several observing stations. I do not 
know that it follows that it will be sur- 
passed in the excellence of its " seeing," 
for I find that astronomers do not agree 
as to the supreme value of high observ- 
ing stations ; for stellar observations, it 
is said, rarity of air is not so important 
as steadiness, which does not neces- 
sarily depend on height ; at medium 



pied by any great observatory. Profes- 
sor Burnham's visit in 1879, while it was 
still a wilderness, his sojourn on the 
mountain in a temporary dome, and his 
enthusiastic report on the conditions, 
are within every one's memory. In the 
three fall months of his stay forty-two 
nights were " first-class," — a higher 
proportion perhaps than at any other 
time of year ; but observers in Wash- 



8 



The Lick Astronomical Department. 



ington have been known to have but 
thirty- eight very good nights in a year. 
While Mr. Lick was settling the ques- 
tion of the site, the trustees began to 
consider that of plans. They consulted 
Professor Newcomb, of the United 
States Naval Observatory at Washing- 
ton, and during the October of 1874 he 
and Professor Holden, at that time one 
of the astronomers of the Washington 
Observatory, drew the general plans 
that have since been followed. At the 
same time, Professor Holden was asked 
by D. O. Mills, the president of the 
trustees, to take the directorship of the 
observatory, and accepted. The whole 
work of building and equipment was 
of a sort to require supervision from an 
astronomer, besides an amount of per- 
sonal attention which it was hardly pos- 
sible for Mr. Mills to give. Professor 
Holden was a young man for such a 
place, — twenty-eight years old, — but he 
was a man of whom a great deal was ex- 
pected, energetic and brilliant, and of 
good training. He had been a year one 
of the astronomers in the Washington 
Observatory and Professor of Mathe- 
matics in the Navy, before that for two 
years a lieutenant in the Engineer 
Corps and instructor at West Point, 
where he had graduated with distinc- 
tion, after taking a scientific degree at 
the Washington University of St. Louis. 
But he was not destined to enter upon 
the duties of director till many years 
later; for in 1875, some dissatisfaction 
having arisen between Mr. Lick and 
certain of his trustees, he sought to 
recall and remake the trust deed, suc- 
ceeded in doing so through the legal 
services of Mr. Felton, and in Septem- 
ber, 1875, made a new trust deed, in 
which he reserved the right to change 
the trustees. The only other change 
made by this deed was, that the ob- 
servatory was to be turned over ulti- 
mately to the University instead of the 
Academy of Sciences. I have been told 
of a personal incident that Mr. Lick 



gave as a reason for this change ; it is 
not unlikely that Mr. Felton's influence 
also, which was always for the Univer- 
sity, had something to do with it. 

Under the new. deed Mr. Lick ap- 
pointed a board, of which Captain Floyd 
was the president ; and a year later re- 
placed it by a third, retaining Captain 
Floyd as president, however. A month 
later, October 1, 1876, Mr. Lick died, at 
the age of eighty. He had ended after 
all by leaving no provision for his own 
tomb ; but he is said to have spoken of 
wishing to be buried at the Observa- 
tory ; and in 1887 his remains were car- 
ried to the mountain and placed in a 
mausoleum, under the pier of the great 
telescope. 

In the same year, 1876, Captain Floyd 
being in London met Professor Holden, 
who had been sent by the government to 
examine and report upon the South 
Kensington Loan Collection of Scien- 
tific Instruments, especially improve- 
ments in astronomic and geodetic in- 
struments. This acquaintance resulted 
in Professor Holden's becoming the 
scientific adviser of the board through 
the whole process of construction ; he 
completed the specifications for the 
buildings according to the original plan, 
took part in the vast correspondence 
that was carried on with astronomers 
and opticians all over the world, and 
later attended to the purchase of most 
of the instruments. For three years 
nothing but planning and correspond- 
ence could be done, for the trust was 
kept at a standstill by the danger of a 
litigation that might have ended in the 
loss of the whole. Claims were, how- 
ever, happily compromised, and in 1880 
work was begun on the mountain. 

To place buildings so substantial and 
extensive on a bare peak twenty-six 
miles by mountain road from the near- 
est town, was, of course, no slight under- 
taking, as 72,000 tons of rock had 
to be removed to get a level space large 
enough for the building, and two sum- 



10 



The 'Lick Astronomical Department. 




EDWARD S. HOLD EN. 



mers were consumed in this task. San- 
ta Clara County had promptly and effi- 
ciently fulfilled its promise, and one 
of the finest of mountain roads, — firm, 
even, and so beautifully graded that 
there is not a place in it where the 
stage-horses need break their trot, — 
awaited the beginning of work on the 
Observatory. In five years all the build- 
ings were ready, except the great dome, 
which had to wait till the telescope was 
ready. 

Mr. Lick's deed had provided for " a 
telescope superior to and more powerful 
than any telescope yet made, with all the 
machinery appertaining thereto, and ap- 
propriately connected therewith, . . . 
and also a suitable observatory." When 
these words were written, the largest 
refracting telescope in the world was the 
26-inch one of the Naval Observatory, 
made by Alvan Clark & Sons, and erect- 
ed in 1873. But while the Lick trusts 
were at a standstill three more large 
glasses were made, the largest one 30 
inches, made by the Clarks for the Im- 
perial Observatory at Pulkowa, Russia. 



36 inches was the largest lens the Lick 
trustees could get the Clarks to contract 
for ; so at that size the order was given, 
$50,000 being the contract price. Every 
one will remember the somewhat dra- 
matic story of this glass : how Feil & Co. 
of Paris, undertook to cast it for the 
Clarks, and sent the flint-glass over 
safely in 1882, but cracked the crown- 
glass in packing ; how the elder Feil 
having retired, the sons tried in vain for 
a couple of years to get the great glass 
block safely cast, and at last went into 
bankruptcy ; how the elder Feil came to 
the rescue, took charge of the business 
again, and near the end of 1885 shipped 
to the Clarks a perfect block. Professor 
Newcomb, who visited Europe to inves- 
tigate this matter of glass disks, made 
an interesting report on the process of 
making, which I have seen quoted. The 
difficulty is to get the glass of perfectly 
even texture throughout, and this can 
never be hoped for on the first anneal- 
ing ; veins must be cut out, the block 
reheated, pressed together, and again 
annealed, each trial consuming months. 




J. M. SCH.KBERLE. 



The Lick Astronomical Department. 



11 




E. E. BARNARD. 



The Clarks then took a year for the 
" figuring," — the delicately precise 
shaping of the lenses to the most perfect 
collection of light, so delicate that the 
last stages are done with the thumb and 
palm of the hand. 

The mounting was made by Messrs. 
Warner and Swazey, of Cleveland, and 
the great dome by the Union Iron 
Works of San Francisco. Of the me- 
chanical excellences of the work much 
has been said in many journals ; and 
although some adjustments were neces- 
sary before everything worked smooth- 
ly, I believe the work has all proved to 
be on the whole wonderfully perfect 
and wise. The great telescope, with its 
accessories, cost about $200,000. 

Professor Holden made three visits, the 
first in 1881, to attend to the setting up 
of the meridian circle, and observe the 
transit of Mercury; and in 1882, Pro- 
fessor Todd, of Amherst Observatory, 
observed the transit of Venus here, and 
obtained excellent results. In 1885 Pro- 
fessor Holden came to the State as 
president of the University and director 



of the Observatory, and for the next 
three years made vacation headquarters 
at the mountain, and was able to be in 
constant communication with the trus- 
tees in San Francisco. 

In 1888 the Observatory was formally 
turned over to the University regents, 
and its staff of astronomers was ap- 
pointed. Professor Holden, as a matter 
of course, was retained as director ; he 
had been called to the University with 
that understanding. The fourteen years 
that had passed since his relation to the 
Observatory began, had been so occupied 
as to give him in unusual degree an " all- 
round " acquaintance with the practical 
and theoretic questions of his science. 
He had remained five years in the 
Washington Observatory, and had been 
successively in partial charge of each 
department of astronomical work, and 
in each* had been employed not only in 
observing, but in calculating and in the 
study of results ; and had made as libra- 
rian, bibliographer, and writer, an un- 
usual aquaintance with the literature of 




y "k 



V 



■-.'■;■■•' 



W. W. CAMPBELL. 



12 



The Lick Astronomical Department. 



the science. He had in 1881 been called 
to the directorship of the still unfinished 
Washburn Observatory, at Madison, 
Wisconsin, and had organized it effi- 
ciently and given it a good standing. 
In 1878 he had been in charge of the 
United States Eclipse Expedition to 
Central City, Colorado ; in 1883 of the 
United States Eclipse Expedition to 
the South Pacific Ocean ; and in 1884 
of the Division of Meteorology of the 
Northern Transcontinental Survey. 
Without having attained brilliant dis- 
tinction in any one department of his 
science, he was an astronomer of rec- 
ognized merit in all, as evidenced then 
or soon after by honorary degrees from 
several universities, and membership in 
a long list of scientific societies in 
America and Europe ; one of these at 
least, that of associate membership in 
the Royal Astronomical Society of 
England, an honor enjoyed by scarcely 
a dozen American astronomers, and a 
practical guarantee of standing. " The 
first requisite for the director of a 
great observatory " (I quote a private 
letter from an astronomer) ki is to have a 
very clear notion of just what kind of 
work ought to be done, how it should be 
done, and then to give all the aid in his 
power to the investigator. Tn all these 
particulars Professor Holden seems to 
be just the right man in the right place." 
In carrying on the external relations of 
the Observatory, also, — relating it to 
other observatories, in this country and 
abroad, seeing to it that knowledge 
of its work is thoroughly and to the 
best advantage disseminated, — Profes- 
sor Holden has been a successful di- 
rector ; aided in this by a really fine lit- 
erary power and a wide general cultiva- 
tion. Of difficulties just now discussed 
by the papers, concerning the adjust- 
ment of internal relations, I do not think 
it suitable to say anything here. It is 
unfortunate that any one should have 
tried to adjust them through the press : 
Mr. Alvan Clark might as well have 



tried to figure the great lens with a Cor- 
liss engine. This much should be said : 
whatever difficulties have occurred have 
been aggravated first by the want of a 
permanent president in the University, 
which raises questions of authority, and 
second by the inherent difficulties of 
settling novel questions of administra- 
tion in a novel situation. This is the first 
great, permanent observatory thrown 
so on its own resources, far from uni- 
versity or city surroundings, and with- 
out the relief of contact with other than 
the one line of thought. Nor is the sit- 
uation of a remote military post anal- 
ogous, for definite military precedents 
there settle everything, — a system im- 
possible in a branch of a modern univer- 
sity, manned by scientific men, of inde- 
pendent thought and distinction. 

The appointment of his colleagues 
was left to Professor Holden. He se- 
lected J. E. Keeler, now director of the 
observatory at Alleghany, Pennsylvania, 
S. W. Burnham, E. E. Barnard, and J. 
M. Schaeberle. Besides these, the only 
full astronomers, holding rank as pro- 
fessors in the University, have been 
Henry Crew, now of Northwestern 
University, and W. W. Campbell, ap- 
pointed last year. Of those astronomers 
who are not now on the staff, I must 
not pause to speak, except in the case 
of Professor Burnham, who has been 
connected with the Observatory until 
very lately. His somewhat unique po- 
sition among American astronomers 
deserves mention. He is not only one 
of the self-created men of science who 
have not been so very rare in America 
(the story has been told in print and is 
not unfamiliar), but he is an instance in 
what I think must be a rare degree of 
the attainment of eminence through 
concentration of effort on a single line. 
Professor Burnham is not only a special- 
ist in being an observer merely, unfamil- 
iar with the other sides of astronomical 
science, but as an observer he is almost 
exclusively a specialist in double stars ; 




EYE END OF THE GREAT EQUATORIAL. PROFESSOR KEELER. 



14 



TJie Lick Astronomical Department. 



and in discovering and measuring these 
he has no rival. While he was at Mount 
Hamilton, this branch of observation 
naturally became very prominent, and 
the great telescope was given up to it 
for more than a third of the time. 

Professor Barnard also is a self-taught 
astronomer, and while not a specialist 
in so intense a sense as Professor Burn- 
ham, he is primarily an observer. His 
keen vision, great power of eager and 
yet patient and laborious attention, and 
doubtless other elements in his work 
that astronomers could define, give him 
in especial the name of " genius " among 
his colleagues. Just now the most bril- 
liant and generally interesting feat the 
great glass has yet accomplished, the 
discovery of the fifth moon of Jupiter, 
has brought Professor Barnard the more 
into note. Before this, however, he had 
made some remarkable observations on 
comets, following them to unprecedent- 
ed distances and detecting their ap- 
proach before any one else. In 1891 he 
discovered all the five comets of the 
year, including two new ones ; in all, he 
has discovered nineteen comets in ten 
years. Besides these most striking 
observations, " Professor Barnard has 
made a very large number" (I quote a 
newspaper account by Professor Hol- 
den) " upon the physical appearance of 
the planets Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn, 
upon the zodiacal light, etc., upon mete- 
ors, lunar eclipses, double stars, occupa- 
tions of stars, etc., and he has discovered 
a considerable number of new nebulae 
also." 

Professor Schaeberle is an astronomer 
of full university preparation, trained 
thoroughly and soundly on all sides of 
his science, and in those allied sciences 
that university preparation includes. 
A graduate of Michigan University in 
1876, he was instructor in practical as- 
tronomy in the observatory there, refus- 
ing calls elsewhere, till he came to Mount 
Hamilton in 1888. He has discovered 
two comets, made long series of merid- 



ian circle observations and very exten- 
sive calculations concerning asteroid 
and comet orbits, and has done much 
work in physical and mathematical as- 
tronomy. His theory of the causes of 
the sun's corona was the text of a recent 
discussion in the Royal Astronomical 
Society of England, and if finally accept- 
ed will be to those who value the inter- 
pretation of the universe more than the 
collection of its facts, the most solid and 
important contribution to science yet 
made by the Observatory. Professor 
Schaeberle has just put forth tentatively 
a theory which seems to account for the 
" canals " of Mars and their duplication 
with a rational simplicity : if we regard 
the bright portions of the planet as water, 
and the dark as land, instead of vice versa 
as at present, he points out, the "canals" 
may not improbably be mountain chains, 
some of them parallel chains, as on the 
earth. 

Professor Campbell has been in the 
observatory only a year, but has for- 
warded its work much by introducing 
the photography of spectra with the great 
telescope. He has also studied the or- 
bits of comets, and published last year 
a text book of astronomy for university 
use, which, I am told, has been well re- 
ceived. He is a Michigan University 
graduate of 1886 ; was professor of 
mathematics in the University of Colo- 
rado, then succeeded Professor Schae- 
berle as instructor in astronomy at Mich- 
igan University. 

The present distribution of work 
among these astronomers is given by the 
official report as follows : The great 
telescope is used for photography two 
nights in the week, by Holden and Col- 
ton (assistant astronomer and secre- 
tary) ; two for spectroscope observations 
by Campbell and Townley (Hearst Fel- 
low) ; two by Barnard and Schaeberle 
for miscellaneous observations ; Satur- 
urday night is given up to visitors. The 
12-inch telescope, the 6 l / 2 -inch telescope, 
the comet-seeker and photographic tel- 




Meyer from Himmel und Erde, Berlin. 



THE GREAT EQUATORIAL. 



16 



The Lick Astronomical Department. 



escope, are used by Barnard, and by 
others when not in use by him. The 
meridian circle is in charge of Professor 
Schaeberle ; the time service, of Profes- 
sor Campbell, but most of the work is 
done by Mr. Townley. The meteoro- 
logical and earthquake instruments are 
in charge of Mr. Colton. Professor 
Holden, besides the general charge of 
the establishment and of forwarding 
each one's work, the work in photogra- 
phy, and until Mr. Townley was appoint- 
ed as the first Hearst Fellow, in spec- 
troscopy, has most of the work of libra- 
rian, the scientific correspondence, and 
the editorial charge of the publications 
of the Astronomical Society. 

The Observatory, as turned over to 
the University, had a site of 1901^ acres, 
since increased to 2581^ acres ; this is 
mainly made up of State and national 
grants, for most of the mountain-top 
was fortunately public land. One object 
in getting so targe a reservation was to 
guard against brush fires, by which the 
buildings at one time were threatened. 
The main building consists of two 
domes, connected by a hall 121 feet long, 
along the west side of which are study 
and work rooms. The great dome, 78 
feet in diameter, occupies the south end 
of the leveled platform ; it moves on the 
top of a tower, whose foundations are 
set deep in the rock. The moving parts 
weigh nearly 89 tons, but so perfect is 
the mechanism — operated by a small 
water-engine — that one may see the 
vast concave swing around at the pres- 
sure of a child s hand. The floor works up 
and down by a hydraulic arrangement 
devised by Sir Howard Grubb ; this 
arrangement to a great extent takes the 
place of an observer's chair. The mon- 
ster tube, fifty-seven feet long, and four 
feet in diameter at the center, is mount- 
ed here on an iron pier thirty-eight feet 
high. It is provided with "finders " of 
six, four, and three inches in diameter. 
When it is used for photography, an 
additional single lens, 33 inches in diam- 



eter, is placed in front of the two lenses 
that form the visual objective, and the 
instrument is turned into a great camera. 
The eye end is provided with mechanism 
by which the observer as he sits can do 
most of the handling necessary ; with a 
micrometer, and a frame to which spec- 
troscopes, photometers, or enlarging 
cameras, can be attached. The Observ- 
atory has besides the great equatorial 
a 12-inch one, which occupies the 25 -foot 
dome at the north end of the platform, a 
6y 2 -inch one, and a 4-inch " comet-seek- 
er." Behind the main building is the 
meridian circle house, which contains a 
fine Repsold meridian circle and a 4-inch 
transit and zenith telescope. The Ob- 
servatory is besides well equipped with 
spectroscopes, chronographs, clocks, 
meteorological instruments, and com- 
plete earthquake apparatus. These 
buildings, with a small photographic 
laboratory, take up the leveled space. 
On the side of the peak a large brick 
dwelling-house for astronomers finds 
place, reached by a bridge to its upper 
story ; and below, on the saddle between 
two peaks (the mountain has three), 
gathers quite a village of subsidiary cot- 
tages, workshops, etc. Beyond these is 
a small dome for photographic work, the 
gift, with its telescope, of Regent C. F. 
Crocker. 

When the late Mr. Newall, of Eng- 
land, presented his 25-inch refractor to 
Cambridge, his son, who was to be its 
astronomer, made a tour of the great 
observatories of the world, and came all 
the way to California to study the equip- 
ment of the Lick Observatory and the 
mounting of the great telescope. The 
Earl of Rosse visited and examined it 
in 1 891 ; Professor Auwers, of the Royal 
Academy of Sciences of Berlin, and 
Professor Vogel, Director of the Pots- 
dam Observatory, are to do so soon, on 
a tour of inspection with reference to a 
great telescope for the Prussian govern- 
ment. The satisfaction the astronomers 
feel in showing the Observatory and its 




VENDELINUS. 

From Drawings twenty-fold enlarged from the Negative made at the Lick Observatory, August 31, 1890, at 14 h. 2/ 111., P. S. T. 
by Professor L. Weinek, Director of the Observatory of Prague. 



18 



The Lick Astronomical Department, 



equipment to these competent judges is 
unmistakable. It certainly seems, even 
to the guest ignorant of astronomy and 
astronomical instruments, a most intel- 
ligible satisfaction. The whole place 
is fascinating, exceedingly, — the road 
thither, winding up from one stage to 
another of mountain outlook, through 
the amazing medley of loops and turns 
by which it preserves its easy grade, 
mounting at last and circling the sides 
of the peak itself ; the fine, firm, digni- 
fied building, before whose broad en- 
trance one is finally set down ; the 
shining orderliness and perfection of 
everything ; the sense of being islanded 
above the world, the distance and seclu- 
sion, and yet the intimate nearness to 
the whole world of science ; the cordial 
hospitality of every one there ; the vast, 
dark dome by night, — " as big," some 
one with me said, " as the sky looks to 
most people,"— with the great tube 
spanning the darkness, directed steadily 
and silently against the sky, like a power- 
ful cannon, lying in wait to storm its 
immemorial secrets. 



III. 



Mr. Lick's deed prescribed that the 
Observatory should be " made useful in 
promoting science." Whether through 
the alliance with the University or by 
Professor Holden's original plan, it has 
taken on also a function of diffusing 
knowledge and aiding education in the 
State. I do not know if any other great 
observatory in the world takes on itself 
any such function, at least to any such 
extent. In the first place, there is the 
surrendering of one night in the week 
to visitors. This does not mean that a 
few stray pilgrims make their way to 
the shrine in the wilderness. It means 
that stage after stage from San Jose 
rolls up, — twenty in a procession, some- 
times, — and the little group of astrono- 
mers receives with unflinching courtesy 
the hundreds of passengers, and with 



a system and deftness that is really 
wonderful marshals them through the 
Observatory, explaining patiently its 
leading points, until far on in the night. 
22,496 guests are recorded in four years, 
—some of them by day, to be sure, when 
the Observatory is always open. No 
other observatory in the world offers 
such privileges to visitors. The As- 
tronomical Society of the Pacific is an 
efficient means of diffusing astronomical 
interest and knowledge. It seems to be 
an unusually vigorous and well-knit or- 
ganization, publishes a bi-monthly jour- 
nal, skillfully edited to be of interest to 
astronomers and unlearned members 
alike, has branches in Eastern States, 
and some five hundred members scat- 
tered all over the world. And in addi- 
tion, through newspapers and magazines, 
full explanations of the work and state- 
ments of the general results reached in 
the Observatory have been given forth 
as fast as they reached definable shape. 
No one that knows much of the time and 
skill such publication demands can look 
over the quantity that has been done 
without wonder and respect. 

The Observatory has from the first 
planned for graduate students whenever 
the accommodations permitted, and nine 
in all have studied practical astronomy 
there ; of these, five were professors 
from other institutions, who came for 
further study of some special sort. It is 
the intention to make more and more of 
this graduate work, and already no stu- 
dent need leave California to get the 
highest training in astronomy. The Har- 
vard and Washington observatories give 
no instruction, and there is no reason 
why the California University graduate 
school should not become the source to 
which observatories all over the country 
will look for their young astronomers. 
The director has been unusually diligent 
and successful — as any one may learn 
by an examination of the reports, peri- 
odicals, and other sources of first-hand 
information available — in bringing for- 



The Lick Astronomical Department. 



19 




MARE CR1SIUM. 
Frnm Drawing by Professor L. Weinek from the Negative taken at the Lick Observatory on August 23, 



ward the younger men about him and 
making their successes known ; and I 
am told by competent and disinterested 
authority that the system of giving 
credit to individual observers in an- 
nouncing the results of the Observatory 
work is very liberal at Mount Hamilton, 



as compared with that of other observa- 
tories. The really promising young as- 
tronomers from the graduate school 
will profit by this system. 

What has the Lick Observatory done 
thus far for " the promotion of science ? " 
It is a question that a mere onlooker 



20 



The Lick Astronomical Department. 



cannot possibly answer except by a re- 
summary of the summaries already put 
forth, and confirmed by the notices of 
astronomical periodicals : — 

Solar Eclipses of Jan. and Dec, 1889. 
— At the January eclipse Professor Bar- 
nard, and the Amateur Photographic 
Association, more or less under his 
direction, took many fine photographs 
of the corona, which demonstrated the 
existence of an "extension'' of the 
outer corona. The eclipse of December 
was observed by Professors Burnham 
and Schaeberle, who went to South 
America at the expense of Regent C. F. 
Crocker. The photographs of these 
two eclipses are recognized as among the 
best photographs of the corona ever 
made. Two books have been published 
by the Observatory containing the re- 
sults of these two eclipses. 

It was from their evidence that Pro- 
fessor Schaeberle was led to his theory 
of the corona, mentioned above. In 
April, 1893, the next total eclipse of the 
sun takes place ; this theory, by which, 
if it is sound, the general features of the 
future corona can be now foretold, will 
then have a practical test. A party 
under Professor Schaeberle will go to 
Chile, to observe the eclipse. 

Observations of the Planets and Sat- 
ellites. — The planets have been steadily 
watched and studied, measures and 
drawings of them made, and enlarged 
photographs of Jupiter taken at regular 
intervals, thus recording all changes in 
the surface. These photographs, taken 
by Professors Holden and Campbell, 
are the subject of a paper before the 
Royal Astronomical Society, by A. 
Stanley Williams, who praises them all 
highly, and says of one that it is perhaps 
the finest and most interesting photo- 
graph of Jupiter ever obtained. Much 
time has been spent in examining the 
planets Mars, Uranus, and Neptune, in 
search of new satellites. Jupiter has 
been disadvantageously situated, but is 
now coming steadily into better posi- 



tion, and will be more and more stud- 
ied : last summer Professors Schaeberle 
and Campbell made some interesting dis- 
coveries as to the forms and motions of 
the moons ; and in September came Pro 
fessor Barnard's famous discovery of the 
small inner moon. 

Double Stars. — In this department 
the Lick Observatory has easily led 
thus far, and Professor Burnham cata- 
logued 198 new double stars there. His 
resignation will make the subject less 
prominent in future work. 

Meridian Observations. — These series 
of observations, carried on by Professor 
Schaeberle with the meridian circle, are 
first to determine the positions of stars 
to join together the systems used in the 
nautical almanacs of the different na- 
tions; second, to determine the refrac- 
tion of the stars. A former series of 
similar observations is being reduced by 
computers in the East, at the expense 
of Miss Bruce of New York, and Pro- 
fessor Mendenhall of the United States 
Coast Survey. 

Absorption of Photographic Rays. — 
Professor Schaeberle, from observations 
by Professor Campbell and himself, has 
determined the amount of this absorp- 
tion by the air at different altitudes, — 
a datum necessary in fixing the photo- 
graphic magnitudes of stars, and never 
before definitely determined. This me- 
moir is about to be published by the 
University in book form. 

Comets. — Professor Barnard's notable 
observations, which give the Lick Ob- 
servatory the lead in this direction, have 
been mentioned above. 

Star-Clusters and Nebulce have been 
regularly studied and photographed, and 
in the case of the cluster in Hercules a 
novel peculiarity of structure has been 
ascertained. Professor Barnard has 
taken some important photographs, 
showing the real shapes of nebulae. Pro- 
fessor Holden's paper on Helical Nebu- 
lae has been translated into German, and 
received with much consideration. 



The Lick Astronomical Department. 



21 





ARCHIMEDES, AUGUST 15, 



ARCHIMEDES, AUGUST 27, 



From Drawings by Professor Weinek, enlarged ten times from negatives made at the Lick Observatory 

in August, 1888. 



Moon Photographs are regularly taken 
with the great telescope, and it is the 
intent to continue till a complete set 
has been obtained for every hour or so 
of the moon's age. Changes on the 
moon's surface can thus be detected. 
These photographs have been mechan- 
ically enlarged on glass by Professors 
Burnham and Barnard, and they are 
now sent regularly to Prague, to Pro- 
fessor Weinek, who makes enlarged 
drawings of parts of the surface, which 
are printed in heliogravure, at the ex- 
pense of Walter Law, of New York. 
These drawings are studied by Profes- 
sor Weinek and Professor Holden with 
great care, and Professor Weinek has 
discovered many new features in this 
way. Doctor Otto Boedicker, astrono- 
mer of Lord Rosse's observatory, Doctor 
Ebert of Erlangen, and Doctor Franz of 
Koenigsberg, are also making special 
studies of them. 

Milky Way.— The Milky Way also is 
to be studied by means of photographs, 
which Professor Barnard is now taking, 
attention having been directed to the 



promise of excellent results through 
some most successful ones that he had 
made. The comet lately discovered 
made its impression on one of these 
plates, and was thus first recognized as 
a stranger. 

Spectroscopy. — Professor Keeler made 
some remarkable spectroscopic obser- 
vations, by which he established (for 
the first time) the motions of nebulae in 
the line of sight. When Professor 
Campbell succeeded to the work, he 
adapted the spectroscope — intended for 
visual observations — to photographing 
spectra, and the results showed enor- 
mous advantages in this method. To 
this is largely due the unrivaled success 
of the Lick Observatory in studying 
the new star in Auriga. The great- 
est number of lines in its spectrum 
reported from other observations is 
three ; Professor Campbell has meas- 
ured fourteen. During the time this 
star was very faint, the photographic 
observations of the Lick Observatory 
were the only ones by which it could be 
followed. They alone showed its neb- 



22 



The Lick Astronomical Department. 



ular character, and since its extraordi- 
nary change into a true nebula, they 
have been the only ones that kept ac- 
count of its motions — showing that it 
has been moving away from us, and is 
now approaching, probably revolving in 
a vast orbit — and of its nature, indicat- 
ing that planetary nebulae owe their gen- 
esis to such new stars; both most impor- 
tant steps in our knowledge of stars. 

A review of the publications of the 
Astronomical Society will show many 
minor or subsidiary inquiries going on at 
the Observatory. The secretary's report 
to the regents shows that from June, 
1888, to September, 1892, there have 
been 462 papers published by the as. 




>, Aug., 14 il., 11 h., 15 m. P. S. T, 
W. W. Campbell. 



2, Aug., 1/ d., 11 h.,15 m. P. S. T. 
W.J. Hussey. 



SKETCHES OF MARS SHOWING CANALS. 

tronomers and students — more than two 
a week. Some of these have been brief 
scientific memoranda ; many of them 
long and arduous papers. 

Two things will be noticed in looking 
through this summary of the scientific 
work. First, the great importance of 
the photographic method. This is a 
new aid to astronomy, which the Lick 
Observatory has been one of the first 
to appreciate, and which it has un- 
rivaled facilities for using. The power 
it gives to records, fleeting phenomenon, 
to sit down and study it at leisure, and 
to send it for confirmation to another 
observer, even the other side of the 
world, makes it of inestimable value. 
Second, the co-operative relation with 
other observatories. It has not been 



the general policy of observatories to 
give out their results promptly, and help 
each other in making use of them. The 
Lick Observatory, by a division of labor 
that to some extent makes it a gatherer 
of raw material, to be worked up in 
places where more help is available, has 
been of service to these other observa- 
tories, received great service from them, 
and hastened the advance of science, a 
few months sufficing to have thoroughly 
studied, interpreted, discussed, and set- 
tled, some point that might have had 
to wait years, had each observatory de- 
pended on its own resources. As has 
been said, if the four distinguished for- 
eign astronomers now engaged in special 
studies of the moon negatives were on 
the staff of the Lick Observatory, they 
could hardly utilize its advantages and 
help its work more. 

In addition to all the purely scientific 
work, the Observatory regulates the 
time service for the Pacific States, send- 
ing out daily signals to all the railroad 
stations ; and several minor services of 
the sort have been rendered. 

That the Lick Astronomical Depart- 
ment has done a surprising quantity of 
work in the four years, cannot be ques- 
tioned. One is disposed to think after 
reviewing it, that too much has been 
done rather than too little. The great 
ambition of all the astronomers to force 
the Lick Observatory instantly into the 
world's front rank, in spite of limited 
means and small staff, by a quantity of 
work that would demand attention, and 
of such sort as would bear the judg- 
ment of the first European scholars and 
societies, — this seems to me to have 
kept the work at a high pressure that 
has told somewhat on the men. We 
must be grateful, however, that the grade 
of the work has been kept high. It is 
most easy and tempting in a new institu- 
tion to make concessions from an excel- 
lence that one's public will never miss ; 
and all the evidence shows that the Lick 
Observatory has not done this. 

Milicent IV. Shinn. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



003 537 369 A 







